spectacle

4:9 spectacle. The word is better translated “theater;” in its only other occurrence in the New Testament, this word is so translated (Acts 19:29,31). It is sobering, as well as amazing, to realize that Christians—especially Christian leaders, such as Paul and the apostles—are on a stage, as it were, being carefully watched by an audience which even includes the angels. Compare similar intimations of an angelic audience in Ephesians 3:10; I Corinthians 11:10, I Peter 1:12.